Dentist that Killed Lion, SLAUGHTERED by Reviews. Reported to Google...

I'm sure most of you have heard about the dentist that hunted the famed lion in Africa recently. While staying clear of the obvious dialogue, how does Google treat the thousands of unrelated reviews from his business?

Curious to hear what TC's think Google should do in these instances. To me it seems that only reviews related to the services provided should show on the page but it's clear that there are some personally charged reviews making it to the live page. Thoughts?

Last edited by Linda Buquet; 07-30-2015 at 09:43 AM.Reason:Changed title to be more descriptive. Was: How Does Google Handle Reviews that Come Due to Bad Press

The only reason I have created a Google account is to denounce Walter Palmer for the disgusting piece of shit that he is . I would like to see him beheaded and his head mounted on the wall so we could throw darts at it. Obviously he has small man syndrome complete with I suspect a small penis if he has one at all. I hope that because of the despicable act you have committed Walter Palmer you loose your practice your family and you die a very slow agonizing death, sooner rather than later. You miserable piece of excrement.

I repeat, OMG! The reviews are vicious!

And some are filled with the F word and threats and links to Yelp and other sites that denounce him. I'm really surprised half these reviews got through the filter as strict as it is lately!

Here are some stories about the Dentist that killed the beloved lion, because I was unaware and had to look it up:

But as far as the Google+ reviews, I'll escalate now and get them taken down. We've done it before when reviews were media or politically charged and not about the business. But these reviews are especially abusive, violent and many even threatening.

Not that I condone what he did, mind you. It's despicable, but still the reviews violate the G+ review guidelines and I'm certain will be removed just like Yelp is doing.

I like to see criminals served justice (especially this guy if the allegations are true), but mob behavior always jars me a little. History suggests that mobs aren't the best instruments of justice. And this isn't just a virtual mob with virtual consequences: River Bluff Dental may well be shuttered for good, its employees' livelihoods lost, etc.

It's certainly not the first time an angry mob has taken to writing reviews to exact "justice" on a business, though it typically happens around something at least business-related. Still, you see variations of this problem across reviews as a channel: a one-star review of a stereo because it was damaged during shipping, a one-star review of a restaurant because the line was too long so the customer left, etc.

I worry about anything that erodes the value of reviews for helping customers find the right businesses and vice versa. @Linda, I'm curious to see how Google reacts to this episode! And I second Scott: glad this isn't a client!

I figured I should probably weigh in on this seeing that this dentist was a previous client of Page 1. If you haven't already seen, you will shortly as our CEO made a statement regarding this situation last night. I'm baffled by what has happened and am honestly speechless. We at Page 1 do not condone this behavior whatsoever, and are appalled by the act.

Dr. Palmer left Page 1 back in 2013, but his domain was never transferred. Our 'association' with Dr. Palmer has put Page 1 in the middle of this outrage, which has resulted in many hate comments and posts, not only for Dr. Palmer, but for Page 1 as well just because we once served this business.

I think this is a good learning moment as many businesses who serve those who have done malicious acts, have also been 'guilty' by association. There are steps businesses must take when faced with these PR disasters in hopes to restore the reputation and brand they once had. I think our team at Page 1 has done an amazing job working to minimize this situation and have been completely transparent about our past partnership with Dr. Palmer. Here is a great article on what it takes to overcome these circumstances based on the Subway controversy.

As far as the reviews situation, I agree with Linda in that these reviews should be removed as they are unrelated to the business and violate Google's review guidelines. And as Linda pointed out, Yelp is also in the midst of removing reviews, but there coming in so fast, it's difficult to keep up.

Now, as far reviews that have been left on Page 1's pages. Fortunately, we have not seen any posted to Google or Yelp. However, we were hit on Facebook. Here is a screenshot of one, that we have since hidden -- 2015-07-28_1626 - andrew_w's library. We received 9, 1 star reviews in a span of about 20 minutes yesterday, and during that time we unpublished our page until we had approval from management to start responding and reporting. Currently, Facebook has not taken these down, and the issue has been sent to their internal team for higher approval. Supposedly, review removal on FB needs to be a 'one & done' sort of thing, and they cannot just go back and remove reviews individually. The statement our social media specialist received from Facebook, is that they have never dealt with this type of situation before, so we are still waiting to see how this will be handled.

I will keep you all updated as I hear more. Again, I want to stress that Page 1 Solutions is extremely sadden by this and take pride in our commitment to community service and the support of all humanitarian organizations.